Indiana Fever 2024

[Ice Man]

Clark
Mitchell
Hull + new glue piece
Satou or Meesemans
Boston + Temi

That would get the job done. Especially if the new glue piece is longer and better than Hull, so she can move to her proper spot in the rotation, as a bench energy player. Oh, and I would want Dantas back, as Boston's replacement, with Temi being the bench #4.

Smith obviously must go. As an alleged star (former #2 overall draft pick) she couldn't get meaningful playoff minutes. Nor did she deserve them, the team was better with journeywoman Temi in there.

[cdubbz]

Fever v Sun

- Boston Pick n roll This was successful in game 1. If Sun continue to double KM/Clark then Boston needs to hit that jumper or make the smart read.

The Fever got Boston going on the basket roll, but not the short roll. That was going to Temi, which isn't a good play for Indy. I assume that happened because the Sun took away Boston's short roll (otherwise, why pass the ball to Temi?).

-Get the others going: Get Lexie, Nalyssa MORE looks. Lexie only had 4 FGA. (29min) and Nalyssa 1 (9min). Dantas made a huge difference with her ability to hit the 3 and score. Clark/KM/Boston need those guys to keep the defense honest and help with scoring.

That didn't happen. Temi did get 4 baskets on 3 layups + the 1 fluky 3 pointer, but everybody else beside the Big Three went 5-16. Clark, Boston, and Mitchell outscored Thomas, Bonner, and Mabrey by 7 points, but the rest of Indy got outplayed.

Protect the paint: Fever game up 50 points in the paint. I think Fever need to keep 2 bigs on the floor at all times. Shoot use hack-a-Jones once in a while if you need to.

The interior defense was better in Game #2. They still gave up a lot of paint points, but many of those were tough shots. Credit to Thomas, in particular, for making big shots while under pressure.

Lexie Hull did get 9 shots in and was way more aggressive then i have ever seen her, but her offensive bag is just limited. She doesn't have a go to move yet. Temi hitting that 3 was wild - there was still 9 seconds on the shot clock i think Overall the 'others' played better than the previous game. Even Wheeler gave a lot of energy in the first half and i liked it.

[Ice Man]

Even Wheeler gave a lot of energy in the first half and i liked it.

That was about the best that I have seen Wheeler play. At least, the most aggressively.

I lived in Oakland back in the day. Long ago, before anybody called Oakland the Bay Area's Brooklyn, when the Giants played in the Stick and the Warriors in the Oakland Coliseum. As in, Joe Barry Carroll days.

[cdubbz]

Even Wheeler gave a lot of energy in the first half and i liked it.

That was about the best that I have seen Wheeler play. At least, the most aggressively.

I lived in Oakland back in the day. Long ago, before anybody called Oakland the Bay Area's Brooklyn, when the Giants played in the Stick and the Warriors in the Oakland Coliseum. As in, Joe Barry Carroll days.

I loved going to Oakland in 2010s man. I definitely did hear that phrase being used which i never liked because nothing can ever be close to that manhattan/Brooklyn feel. Oakland was cool and i went out there every weekend almost to hang out, drink, socialize etc. I wouldn't go there at all now -- there was a WNBA playoff watch party hosted by Valkyrie yesterday and I just didn't feel safe to go out there.

[rmontro]

Well, that's the season for me. It was fun and exciting, although it would have been nice to have gotten at least one playoff win. Maybe if they would have had a home game in there, it might have made a difference. I doubt that I will watch any more games, but I'll keep track to see who wins it all. I'm glad Clark isn't going to be playing in the 3x3 league or overseas, she needs the break.

The end of the season looked a lot like the beginning of the season, with the Fever being outclassed by the top teams. But it also looked different, because they looked much improved. At the beginning of the season, I thought they looked like the worst basketball team I had ever seen.

Oh, and the refs stunk.

[cdubbz]

Lyss posted what seems to be a goodbye or thank you -- to Indiana?
- She is under contract for 1 more year. Did her and management have that conversation already for off season plans?

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[rmontro]

Lyss posted what seems to be a goodbye or thank you -- to Indiana?
- She is under contract for 1 more year. Did her and management have that conversation already for off season plans?

Good question. She seems like one of the natural pieces that you look at think you might be able to improve. Although I would start with Wheeler, since her contract is up (and is paid more, IIRC).

[cdubbz]

Lyss posted what seems to be a goodbye or thank you -- to Indiana?
- She is under contract for 1 more year. Did her and management have that conversation already for off season plans?

Good question. She seems like one of the natural pieces that you look at think you might be able to improve. Although I would start with Wheeler, since her contract is up (and is paid more, IIRC).

Fever can protect her in the expansion draft and honor her 'request' and trade her to get something back OR just leave her unprotected see if Valkyries pick her up - as a GSV fan I'd like Nalyssa in the expansion draft.

[rmontro]

Fever can protect her in the expansion draft and honor her 'request' and trade her to get something back OR just leave her unprotected see if Valkyries pick her up - as a GSV fan I'd like Nalyssa in the expansion draft.

There have been rumors that she has been disgruntled, although nothing confirmed that I'm aware of. Or maybe she just sees the writing on the wall.

It will be interesting to see if free agents consider Indiana a desirable destination or not. Although I'm not sure how much the expansion might interfere with that. Seems like it will be a tricky offseason.

[cdubbz]

Fever can protect her in the expansion draft and honor her 'request' and trade her to get something back OR just leave her unprotected see if Valkyries pick her up - as a GSV fan I'd like Nalyssa in the expansion draft.

There have been rumors that she has been disgruntled, although nothing confirmed that I'm aware of. Or maybe she just sees the writing on the wall.

It will be interesting to see if free agents consider Indiana a desirable destination or not. Although I'm not sure how much the expansion might interfere with that. Seems like it will be a tricky offseason.

A lot of social media users are bringing up this point too - players won't want to play for Fever because of the racism and hate from 'fans'. It's wild that such a small portion of bad 'fans' are taking over the narratives for Fever.

[rmontro]

A lot of social media users are bringing up this point too - players won't want to play for Fever because of the racism and hate from 'fans'. It's wild that such a small portion of bad 'fans' are taking over the narratives for Fever.

I think some players might not want to be under Clark's shadow. Plus some of the players around the league appear to actually hate her. On the other hand, since there are so many eyes on the Fever, they could actually become much more well known playing for them. Depends on the attitude of the athlete in question.

[Ice Man]

Oh, I'm pretty sure that the Fever will be able to attract FAs. It's a good team on the rise that gets national attention, and Clark gets you the ball. Plus, to the extent that players dislike her (and I'm not sure how many do), that seems to be a dislike based on her status as a hyped rookie, as opposed to how she treats her teammates. After all, Boston, Mitchell, Wheeler, & Hull, to name 4 current teammates, genuinely seem fond of her.

On Lyssa, the problem is not that she was an imperfect "fit" this season. It's that she was not a championship quality starter. She's an incurably weak defender, as she is slow-footed and not long. Last year, she partially made up for that by being a proficient scorer, not only getting buckets in the paint but being a mid-range threat, by shooting 45% on FGs from 10 to 16 feet. She also shot 68% on FTs. This year, her midrange % dropped to 31% and her FTs to 57%. Bad defense, no outside shooting, poor FT shooting, and an indifferent passer at best (career assist average of 1.6 per game). That's not a helpful combination.

[jc23]

Whatever the plan you have to take advantage of Boston and Clark being on rookie deals while you can.

[TheSuzerain]

A lot of social media users are bringing up this point too - players won't want to play for Fever because of the racism and hate from 'fans'. It's wild that such a small portion of bad 'fans' are taking over the narratives for Fever.

I think some players might not want to be under Clark's shadow. Plus some of the players around the league appear to actually hate her. On the other hand, since there are so many eyes on the Fever, they could actually become much more well known playing for them. Depends on the attitude of the athlete in question.

Clark's shadow should include like 200k in Nike money or something. Don't think they'll have issues adding top talent.

[Ice Man]

Matching my eye test, NaLyssa Smith's on/off was significantly worse than any other player on Indy who got big minutes. For Boston, Clark, and Mitchell, their on/off scores ranged from -0.8 to -1.7. Smith finished at -4.8. Given that she played 25 minutes per game and was often on the court with those other three players, that implies that the Big Three were all positive when not carrying Smith.

I can't believe that Indy will keep her. Even though she is young, she is an old-school style player who is increasingly ineffective in a league that is moving toward switching, motion offense, and playing with pace. (Ten years ago, only one WNBA team played at a pace above 80. This year, 7 teams did.)

[cdubbz]

Kelsey Mitchell on free agency

"I think everything for me is so fresh that I don't know what I what I need and what I'm going to do, but I know that when time comes and the opportunity is right for me, I'll make those decisions," Mitchell said. "Obviously, I've always had a home in Indy, so it could potentially be a home for me again, but I think right now, the switching dynamic of my family and everything, I got to do what's best for me. That's no hanging my hat on one team or another, but I think it's specifically for me. I got to be selfish about that process."

Right now, she doesn't know how that process is going to work out. WNBA free agency doesn't officially start until January, when teams are able to reach out to players and negotiate.

Mitchell is also eligible to be cored by the Fever, which is similar to the NFL's franchise tag. WNBA teams can core one outgoing unrestricted free agent per offseason cycle, but players can not be cored for more than two total seasons. Because Mitchell agreed to a contract extension in 2021, she has never been cored.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/basketball/wnba/fever/2024/10/01/indiana-fever-wnba-free-agency-kelsey-mitchell-says-she-has-to-be-selfish-contract-core/75408866007/

[cdubbz]

Fever making front office moves.

Big roster changes coming soon? How long is Sides contract? I don't think they make a coaching move unless a big time coach comes a long.

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[jc23]

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talented yet misses alot of games.

[Wizop]

A new coach is coming. Sides gone.

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[Braggins]

New front office and new coach should mean 0% chance they bring back Erica Wheeler!